“At the Door: A Shanghai Lilong Soundwalk” invites the audience to take a thirty minute walk through a nearly abandoned lilong in the historical city core of Shanghai. The soundwalk offers an immersive sonic experience of life in a lilong. The tour explores the dichotomy between private and public space and the memories they contain. It serves as a reflection on the current moment of Shanghai’s lilongs and offers a new perspective on these places.
“At the Door: A Shanghai Lilong Soundwalk” focuses on the typical living compound of Shanghai lilong, a special kind of lane dense housing complexes in Shanghai, and by extension, a community centered on a lane or several interconnected lanes. It is a unique living compound where visibility and openness replace walls. A lot of activities happen in the shared public spaces. Sound travels everywhere due to the limited space owned by each person and the not soundproof enough construction. This project takes an acoustic approach to document the “fluid dynamics” of the Shanghai lilong. The fluid dynamics of the ever-changing soundscape of the place, of the changes in residents, and of the relocation, gentrification, and preservation of Shanghai lilongs.The project invites the audience to take a thirty-minute walk through a nearly abandoned lilong in the historical city core of Shanghai near Laoximen Subway Station. The soundwalk offers an immersive sonic experience of life in a lilong. The tour explores the dichotomy between private and public space and the memories they contain. It serves as a reflection on the current moment of Shanghai’s lilongs and offers a new perspective on these places.
There are in total five sections, featuring the 360-dimensional immersive soundscape of lilong space, and four diverse groups of people talking about their stories and perspectives towards life in lilongs from 1960 to 2021. Together they lead the audience through the living experience, of sharing some common space with familes living in the same house, frequent neighborhood interaction in a lane, and the daily routine in a lilong compound.
“Change” plays an important role in this project. The site and route went through several adjustments due to these changes. Every time I went on the tour, I would discover something new. The family that lived behind the narrow red wooden door in March was no longer there in early May. The green bar gate that was accessible 3 days ago got a metal lock on it last time I went there. A great number of lilong houses in Shanghai have gone through reconstruction and gentrification and no longer accommodate people. The project however does not answer how these houses or neighborhoods should be preserved, but rather serves as the documentation of the place in the form of sound. The reason why it is important may be answered by one of the interviewees, “we may not see these houses and lanes again”.
Tags:#Soundwalk#Shanghaililong#Audioexperience